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How Does A Rikers Inmate Become a Hero?

NPR | By NPR/TED Staff

Published December 18, 2015 at 9:55 AM EST

Part 5 of the TED Radio Hour episode The Hero's Journey.

About Ismael Nazario's TED Talk

As a teenager, Ismael Nazario spent more than 300 days in Rikers Island's solitary confinement before being convicted of a crime. He describes how every day was a test to survive.

About Ismael Nazario

When Ismael Nazario was a teenager, he was arrested for robbery and sent to Rikers Island.

Nazario's story was part of a report by the Center For Investigative Reporting focusing on teens in solitary confinement.

Now Nazario works as a case manager for the Fortune Society where he helps former inmates from New York's Rikers Island jail reintegrate into society after their release.